rmwtfandomcom-20200213-history
John Egbert
During the day, John Egbert is a (relatively) normal, straight-A teenager with a love of swimming and comic books, and only a single friend (whom he is head-over-heels in love with). By night, however, John becomes Heir, Seattle's best-known superhero. Background Due to reasons as of yet unrevealed, John was born with the ability to control and affect the winds themselves. These powers manifested themselves in uncontrollable but minor bursts, reacting to the infant's moods and tantrums. Recognizing John's abilities for what they were, John's father, Charles Egbert, realized that he had a moral obligation to raise his son to be a benefit to society. As soon as John was able to walk and talk, his father began his training. From that point forward, John grew up with the goal of being a superhero firmly implanted inside him. With only a tentative grasp on his powers as a young child, the still immature John was homeschooled for fear that he might slip in his control and cause an incident with the wind or unintentionally cause damage to his surroundings or peers with his unnatural strength. This had the unfortunate effect of stunting John's social growth during his most formative years even further, which negatively impacted his social life for many years to come. John was finally deemed skilled enough in his control to attend school when he turned twelve, though his first year as a seventh grader set a disastrous precedent in social relations that would continue until high school. Twelve was more of a milestone for John than simply being able to attend school for the first time, however, as having proven himself capable of sufficiently controlling his abilities also granted him the privilege of going out on hero patrol without his father's supervision. This was the first time that Seattle got a full taste of the hero who would come to call himself Heir. Personality Coming from a background that has hammered into him the ideals of a hero, John is much more serious and mature than his canon counterpart. The fact that he is currently four years older than when his canon counterpart began his quest adds to this. While he was considerably more immature in his younger years, facing life-and-death confrontations during which a slip-up could cost him his life has forced John to recognize that immaturity has no place in the life of a hero. John is very cautious and careful both in and out of his uniform, preferring to analyze a situation fully before committing himself to an action. This can sometimes cause John to dwell too much inside his head or fixate on a subject to the point that he starts overanalyzing things, which can lead to him second-guessing himself. Though he is fully aware of this character flaw, he has been unable to break himself of the habit. Despire having to be serious on the job, John still retains a good sense of humor and friendliness, and is very eager about maintaining the few friendships that he has. He is a mostly happy teen despite having his fair share of teenage angst, most of which stems from the pressure heaped upon his shoulders from having to serve and protect an entire city by himself (at least until Hemogoblin came onto the scene). In addition to this pressure, John must deal with the loneliness that comes from being unable to establish deep relationships with his peers for fear of putting their lives in danger by association. One of John's strongest inner desires is to be a normal teenager who can hang out with friends and play video games whenever he wants, though this desire is tempered by the knowledge that to abandon his duties as a hero would be to leave his city at the mercies of those with bad intentions. Family John's only known relative is Charles Egbert, his father, who is a former Marine turned businessman. The whereabouts of his mother are currently unannounced, though her absence doesn't seem to bother John in his adolescence. John has no other immediate family members that he knows of. John's father began encouraged his hobby of superheroes at a very young age and acted as his combat and strategic trainer from his early childhood onwards. Because of their unique circumstances, their relationship is sometimes strained. John understanding his father's wishes for him to not stand out in order to avoid raising suspicious or compromise his superhero identity, but at the same time strains under pressure and his loneliness. Friends Owing to his childhood fixation on preparing for his future as a crimefighter as well as the knowledge that any friend he'd make could be in mortal danger were his secret identity as Heir to be compromised, John was not afforded many opportunities to make friends. This did not prevent him from trying when he was younger and just starting off in the public education system, but after many disastrous attempts owing to his awkward social nature, John consigned himself to the lonely duties of a large city's sole protector. This changed when John encountered Karkat Vantas in his first period Biology class during the beginning of his Sophomore year, when he noted that the troll sitting in front of him was wearing a Batman-themed hoodie. After John realized that Karkat was the very same troll whom he had earlier rescued from a shootout, he quickly attempted to make friends. Karkat, though at first annoyed by John's amateurish attempts at friendship, soon came to tolerate if not enjoy John's presence after he realized that John was not being dissuaded by his prickly and abrasive outward attitude. After more than a year of being friends, John's relationship with Karkat has never been stronger, and the two are often inseparable when together. Karkat has proven to be very possessive of John, and willing to lash out at anyone looking to catch John's attention who Karkat deems unworthy.http://www.archiveofourown.org/works/469179/chapters/1015189 Chapter 6 - Real Men Wear Tights John himself is immensely attached to Karkat, to the point that he feels that his feelings for Karkat have grown into love of a romantic nature. Despite his close friendship with Karkat, John still finds it difficult to approach others about starting potential friendships. But with Karkat by his side, John doesn't really feel the need to, anyway. Hobbies Comic Books John's favorite hobby is reading comic books, a hobby he shares with Karkat Vantas. Since childhood, he has been heavily encouraged by his father to follow the exploits of Light-minded superheroes—either real or fictitious—and it was decided that the best way to do this was through comic books. John's father liked this solution, as comic books were the ideal tool for illustrating the kind of heroic ideals that he wished for John to strive towards. It also helped that comics presented the information in a format which appealed heavily to the then-young John. John has continued his love of comics for years now, and at this point has amassed an enormous collection of comic books of which he is immensely proud. Movies While John doesn't have a lot of time on weekdays to sit around on the couch and watch movies, he makes a point of making time to go to the theaters on weekends with Karkat whenever they're both free. Both he and Karkat share a love for movies, though John's tastes tend to revolve around action and comic book movies, while Karkat favors romantic comedies. Swimming Next to comic books, swimming is John's favorite hobby. His father made it a point to teach John how to swim as soon as possible when he was young, as it proved an excellent method for keeping his body fit and toned and provided him an outlet for his sometimes boundless stores of energy and stamina. As John grew older and his body naturally developed to a more Herculean physique through his constant training, swimming also became an excellent excuse as to how he was able to consistently stay in tip-top shape throughout his adolescence and into his high school years. In order to maintain the appearance of this excuse, John joined the swim team in both middle school and high school. In addition to providing him a much-needed focus for his excess energy, swimming has also provided John an excuse to relax and actually play the role of a normal teenager when in public, for which he is extremely appreciative. Even though John significantly limits his prowess during official competitions so as to not draw excess attention to himself, he consistently blows his opponents out of the water (not literally), and is well-regarded among his teammates as the best swimmer on the team. Regardless of the adoration and admiration that many of his teammates lavish upon him, John is somewhat distant from most of them, and does not regard any of them as anything more than very close acquaintances. John's favorite events while swimming competitively are the 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard medley relay, and 400-yard freestyle relay, and his favorite strokes from favorite to least favorite are the front crawl, butterfly, breaststroke, and the backstroke. Despite trying to keep himself off the public radar, John currently holds several time records for his district. Baking Just like his father, John has developed a fondness for baking. With such a talented mentor guiding him, John has acquired prodigious skills that would be the envy of many, were they aware of just how talented he was. John has reached a point in his skills where it is no problem at all to whip up a pie or cake from scratch with very little effort needed. According to Karkat Vantas, John's baking skills are "life-fulfillment-good."http://www.archiveofourown.org/works/469179/chapters/844335Chapter 3 - Real Men Wear Tights Pranking While John's penchant for pranking has been greatly diminished compared to his canon counterpart's, he is never one to let a golden opportunity pass him by. A skill that John seems to have inherited from his father, John's pranking abilities constitute the one aspect of John's friendship that Karkat Vantas regrets the most. Whether it be a freshly baked pie topped with shaving cream or a classic bucket balanced precariously atop an open door, John does not make much distinction between friend and pranking victim. Though he is always adamant about remaining serious while on the job (a tenant that his father has drilled into his head since childhood), John's prankster spirit will sometimes shine through in his dealings with criminals; if he deems the target to be of little threat, for example, John is not above throwing out some playful banter or causing unseen mischief with the wind before going in for the metaphorical kill. Canon Hobbies Unlike in Homestuck Canon, John has not had the time for training-intensive hobbies that would not contribute to his career as a hero. To this extent, John was not able to pick up activities such as piano-playing or show-magic, though he does enjoy seeing both. Heir Heir is John's superhero alias. While John has been protecting his hometown city of Seattle for almost eight years, he has only been doing so in an official capacity as Heir for around five. Before that, he was just an unnamed young teen in a funny outfit who still managed to kick some ass when it was needed. There were unconfirmed reports at the time of an equally fierce man in a white fedora accompanying the hero, but those reports were never validated. Once John reached his twelfth year, the reports of the accompanying man ceased and Heir was only ever seen on his lonesome from that point forward. As a much younger hero, John was much more carefree and playful with his persona, constantly trying to make puns about the wind and justice while at the same time trying to embody some of the more flamboyant caricatures of fictional comic book heroes. This was a time during which John was convinced that all heroes needed a good catchphrase, and was often noted by defeated criminals to have asked them if he could start over again on his introduction whenever he said something "uncool." Over time, John's personality matured along with his attitude towards crimefighting, hastened along by several close-calls during which his inattention nearly cost him the lives of the people he was trying to protect. Heir is much beloved by the city of Seattle for his contributions to keeping the crime rate low, though John does his absolute best to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible. John does this out of a desire for normalcy and as a safeguard against the discovery of his true identity. This is in opposition to the decisions of some heroes to commit themselves to the job full-time, something that John does not even want to think about until after high school or possibly even college. To that effect, John has never once given an interview beyond answering a few simple questions about his hero persona's identity and about crimes that he has helped to prevent. This has not deterred the public from adoring their hero in the slightest, however, and the likeness of Heir can be found on T-shirts and posters sold throughout the city. Heir enjoys a positive relationship with the city's police, the city having taken an official unofficial stance on his vigilantism as a positive boon for both the city's populace and tourist industry. Heir's current costume consists of a kevlar-lined neoprene ensemble with a grey and blue jacket with matching pants and gloves. On his arms are metal forearm protectors, and on his thighs are several utility pouches containing everything he might need during a night on patrol. Because the nature of his job requires him to interact closely with both civilian and criminal alike, John wears a thin half-face mask that conceals him from the nose down, as well as a pair of goggles to hide his eyes. John is also never found without his warhammer, Casey. Powers and Abilities Windy Powers The strongest card in Heir's arsenal, John has the ability to control the wind and the air around him at a completely instinctual level. The extent of what John can do with these powers is really only limited by what his imagination can come up, though he normally sticks to attacks that involve launching hurricane-force winds at opponents or using the wind to yank someone's feet out from under them. John's abilities also grant him the power of effortless flight, which he can bestow on others in his close proximity. It is this power that he utilizes to help transport himself and Hemogoblin when they need to get to the same place together. Another use of his windy powers is the ability to create a barrier made of compressed wind that has the capability of stopping fast-moving projectiles. The only drawback of this barrier is that, as the pressure increases from dispersing impacts, the temperature also increases. To compensate for this, John subconsciously funnels in cooler air from the bottom of the barrier and disperses the heated air out the top. John has thus far shown two separate barriers: his first, the one he uses most regularly, has proven capable of completely stopping small arms fire. His second barrier, so far seen only once, draws on John's fathomless well of powers and unleashes what can only be described as an active tornado. This barrier has proven capable of absorbing enormous amounts of firepower without flinching, though John has shown difficulty in keeping it under his control, since it tends to want to be unleashed and rage under its own power. While the origins of John's windy powers are as of yet unknown, his relationship with the wind is best described as that of mother and son. It is sometimes unclear whether John is controlling the wind according to his whims, or if John is reacting to the wind's whims itself. There is some evidence to support the latter, as it is the wind that allows John to discover crimes in progress, even during the dead of night when visibility is poor or if the crime is happening across the city. John trusts the wind implicitly, as it has never once steered him wrong or led him into danger. The wind can be rather insistent about warning John of impending danger, in fact, sometimes going so far as to physically tug John away from something he is not prepared to face. Martial Arts Through rigorous and daily training in T'ai Chi and advanced meditation techniques, John's father taught him the control necessary to bring his powers under heel. John has received extensive training in both Judo and Marine Corps Martial Arts, both of which were also imparted to him by his father, which were taught to the man when he was a Marine. These arts rely on throws and quick takedowns, and stress awareness of the self and your body movements at all times. John practices his martial arts literally everyday, and has reached a point in his skills where only the most foolhardy or cocksure of criminals would dare to test their mettle against his martial prowess. Partnership with Hemogoblin After facing down the Midnight Crew together, Heir and Hemogoblin considered their partnership to be cemented. John feels like Hemogoblin is a person to be trusted, and has come to greatly appreciate the presence of another hero able to work right alongside of him. References Category:Heroes Category:Characters